Systems and methods for providing item delivery notification

ABSTRACT

A method and system for providing item delivery notification consistent with the invention includes sending a first notification to a recipient at a recipient notification address, the first notification indicating that an item has been placed in a delivery system directed to the recipient at a first address. Next, the method involves sending a second notification to a sender at a sender notification address if the item is successfully delivered to the recipient at the first address, the second notification indicating that the item has been delivered. Then the method involves sending a third notification to the sender at the sender notification address if the item is not successfully delivered to the recipient at the first address, the third notification indicating that the item has not been delivered. And finally, the method involves sending a fourth notification to the recipient at the recipient notification address if the item is not successfully delivered to the recipient at the first address, the fourth notification indicating that the item has not been delivered.

RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] Under provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 119(e), the Applicant claims thebenefit of U.S. provisional application No. 60/230,795, filed Sep. 7,2000, which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present invention relates to the field of providing itemdelivery notification. More particularly, the present invention, invarious specific embodiments, involves methods and systems directed toproviding a link between the contents of a physical mailbox and anotification address.

BACKGROUND

[0003] The United States Postal Service (USPS) is an independentgovernment agency that provides mail delivery and other services to thepublic. The USPS is widely recognized as a safe and reliable means forsending and receiving mail and other items. With the advent and steadygrowth of electronic mail and electronic commerce, the physical mailstream will increasingly be utilized for sending and receiving packages.By virtue of the limited size of a typical mailbox and due to the factthat many recipients may not be at home when an item is delivered,recipients may need to physically visit a central location, such as apost office, in order to obtain a package. For example, a recipient mayneed to go to a post office to pick up a package if the package was toolarge for the recipient's mail box or if the sender required personaldelivery and the package delivery was attempted when the recipient wasnot at home.

[0004] Therefore, the need to efficiently provide item deliverynotification in a delivery system has become a common need for theUnited States Postal Service and many other organizations. Morespecifically, efficiently providing a link between the contents of aphysical mailbox and a notification address has become a criticalservice for many delivery system operators. This is because in anincreasingly competitive environment, meeting and exceeding theexpectations of those who receive a service is essential for a serviceprovider.

[0005] One solution to the item delivery notification problem is for thesystem operator to provide a notification at the address where the itemwas to be delivered if the item delivery cannot be completed. Forexample, the delivery system operator may attempt to deliver a package,but learns after a visit to the physical mailbox that the package is toolarge for the physical mail box or that the recipient is not home toreceive the package as required by the sender. In this situation, thedelivery system operator will provide a notification of the attempteddelivery at the recipient's address. Typically, this notification is inthe form of a note card left at the recipient's physical mailbox. Thisprocedure, however, requires that the recipient return to therecipient's address to receive the notification. Great inefficienciesare created in this procedure because, for example, if the recipient onthe way home from work passes the post office containing the package,the recipient may be required to make a special trip to obtain the itemor must delay receiving the package and combine obtaining the packagewith another trip. Accordingly, efficiently providing item deliverynotification in a delivery system remains an elusive goal. Thus, thereremains a need for efficiently providing item delivery notificationservices in a delivery system. In addition, there remains a need forefficiently linking contents of a physical mailbox with a notificationaddress.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] In accordance with the current invention, an item deliverynotification method and system are provided that avoid the problemsassociated with prior art item delivery notification systems asdiscussed herein above.

[0007] In one aspect, a method for providing item delivery notificationconsistent with the invention includes sending a first notification to arecipient at a recipient notification address, the first notificationindicating that an item has been placed in a delivery system directed tothe recipient at a first address; sending a second notification to asender at a sender notification address if the item is successfullydelivered to the recipient at the first address, the second notificationindicating that the item has been delivered; sending a thirdnotification to the sender at the sender notification address if theitem is not successfully delivered to the recipient at the firstaddress, the third notification indicating that the item has not beendelivered; and sending a fourth notification to the recipient at therecipient notification address if the item is not successfully deliveredto the recipient at the first address, the fourth notificationindicating that the item has not been delivered.

[0008] In another aspect, a system for providing item delivery comprisesa component for sending a first notification to a recipient at arecipient notification address, the first notification indicating thatan item has been placed in a delivery system directed to the recipientat a first address; a component for sending a second notification to asender at a sender notification address if the item is successfullydelivered to the recipient at the first address, the second notificationindicating that the item has been delivered; a component for sending athird notification to the sender at the sender notification address ifthe item is not successfully delivered to the recipient at the firstaddress, the third notification indicating that the item has not beendelivered; and a component for sending a fourth notification to therecipient at the recipient notification address if the item is notsuccessfully delivered to the recipient at the first address, the fourthnotification indicating that the item has not been delivered.

[0009] Both the foregoing general description and the following detaileddescription are exemplary and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The accompanying drawings provide a further understanding of theinvention and, together with the detailed description, explain theprinciples of the invention. In the drawings:

[0011]FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a system for providingitem delivery notification consistent with the present invention;

[0012]FIG. 2 is a flow chart of an exemplary method for providing itemdelivery notification consistent with the present invention;

[0013]FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an exemplary subroutine used in theexemplary method of FIG. 2 for sending a first notification to arecipient at a recipient notification address; and

[0014]FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an exemplary subroutine used in theexemplary method of FIG. 2 for sending a third and a fourth notificationto a sender and a recipient.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] Reference will now be made to various embodiments according tothis invention, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawingsand will be obvious from the description of the invention. In thedrawings, the same reference numbers represent the same or similarelements in the different drawings whenever possible.

[0016] Referring to FIG. 1, an embodiment of the present inventionprovides an item delivery notification system 100. For example, a sender105 places an item 110 into a delivery system 130. Item 110 containsaddress label 115 indicating a first address 150 of a recipient 155 anda return address 107 indicating where to return item 110 if necessary.Item 110 is routed through delivery system 130. Delivery system 130comprises a sender plant 125, a delivery path 135, a first address plant140, an alternative address plant 145, and an alternative processingpoint 165. Delivery path 135 comprises a plurality of plants similar tosender plant 125, first address plant 140 and alternative address plant145. The plants within delivery path 135 contain, among other things,automated systems and sorting equipment and are designed to receive andprocess a plurality of items. Delivery system 130 is configured to sensetracking indicia placed on item 110 as it passes through the elements ofdelivery system 130 directing the movement of item 110 through deliverysystem 130.

[0017] The tracking indicia sensed by delivery system 130 may comprise abar code or a PLANET code. A bar code is a printed code used forrecognition by a bar code scanner (reader). Traditional one-dimensionalbar codes use the bar's width to encode a product or account number.Two-dimensional bar codes, such as PDF417, MAXICODE and DATAMATRIX, arescanned horizontally and vertically and hold considerably more data.Generally, PDF417 is widely used for general purposes, MAXICODE is usedfor high-speed sorting, and DATAMATRIX is used for marking small parts.

[0018] Historically, system operators sorted flat mail using POSTNET, a12-digit barcode consisting of alternating long and short barsindicating the destination of, for example, a mailpiece. Responding tothe expanding needs of users, particularly heavy volume users, PLANETcode was developed on the foundation of the existing technicalinfrastructure. The PLANET Code is the opposite of the current POSTNETcodes, reversing long bars for short and short bars for long. Thisinnovation offers the convenience of a bar code that is easily appliedusing current bar-coding methods, and is readily scanned by thehigh-speed automation equipment already located in the plurality ofplants comprising delivery system 130.

[0019] In the item delivery notification process, item 110 is sentthrough delivery system 130 by sender 105 to first address plant 140. Atany time in the delivery process a determination may be made as towhether item 110 is undeliverable. If it is determined that item 110 isundeliverable, item 110 may be forwarded to alternative processing point165 where an ancillary service may be performed. Examples of suchancillary services are recycle service (treating item 110 as waste),NIXIE service, and Computerized Forwarding Service (CFS).

[0020] With respect to NIXIE service, NIXIE is a classification given toan item that cannot be sorted or is undeliverable-as-addressed becauseof an incorrect, illegible, or insufficient delivery address. If item110 is undeliverable-as-addressed, address correction service (re-labelwith a correct address) or return service (return item to the sender)may be performed. In this case, a NIXIE operator specialized in thehandling of such items is required. If item 110 requires return service,return address 107 on item 110 is read and item 110 is sent to returnaddress 107 accordingly. Return address 107 is an element of item 110that is usually placed in the upper left corner of item 110 to indicatethe address of sender 105. This address indicates where sender 105 wantsitem 110 returned if it is undeliverable. In addition return address 107may indicate where sender 105 will receive a bill for any fees due forthe return of item 110. When item 110 requires address correctionservice, a NIXIE operator obtains the proper address of recipient 155 orthe reason for non-delivery. While NIXIE processing may comprise addresscorrection service or return service, those skilled in the art willappreciate that may other types of NIXIE processing may be performed.

[0021] Computerized forwarding service is a centralized, computerizedaddress label-generating operation that forwardsundeliverable-as-addressed items to recipients. In this case, recipient155 pre-registers an alternative address 160 of recipient 155 with thedelivery system operator in order to have all items forwarded toalternative address 160. For example, when recipient 155 moves andwishes to have items sent to alternative address 160, recipient 155notifies the delivery system operator of alternative address 160. Oncethe delivery system operator is notified of alternative address 160, allitems sent to first address 150 are detected by delivery system 130,re-labeled, and then forwarded to alternative address 160. In theaforementioned computerized forwarding service, items are forwarded onlyfor a specific period of time. The delivery system operator expectsrecipient 155 to contact each and every sender who recipient 155 mayexpect to receive an item and notify the possible senders of the addresschange of recipient 155. After the computerized forwarding service timeperiod is complete, the delivery system operator will cease forwardingitems to recipient 155 and will return to the sender 105 all items sentto first address 150.

[0022] If ancillary services were required, item 110 may remain atalternative processing point 165 or may be processed at an item recoverysection of alternative processing point 165. Item 110 may be recoveredby sender 105 or recipient 155 upon the completion of a tracer. A traceris a form completed by sender 105 or recipient 155 to locate delayed orundelivered items. While item recovery may occur at alternativeprocessing point 165, those skilled in the art will appreciate that mayother types of processing may be performed at alternative processingpoint 165.

[0023] Still referring to FIG. 1, the delivery system operator maycommunicate with either sender 105 or recipient 155 over acommunications system 170. For example, a customer supportrepresentative located at alternative processing point 165 may send: 1)a first notification to recipient 155 at a recipient notificationaddress indicating that item 110 has been placed in delivery system 130directed to recipient 155 at first address 150; 2) a second notificationto sender 105 at a sender notification address indicating that item 110has been delivered; 3) a third and a fourth notification to sender 105and recipient 155 respectively, indicating that item 110 has not beendelivered; or 4) a fifth notification to sender 105 at the sendernotification address indicating that item 110 has been obtained ifrecipient 155, for example, picks up item 110 rather than the deliverysystem operator delivering item 110.

[0024] In the present embodiment, preferred methods of the inventionutilize a sender computer 175, a recipient computer 180, and a deliverysystem operator computer (not shown), which are typically a personalcomputer or other similar microcomputer-based workstation. Those skilledin the art, however, will appreciate that sender computer 175, recipientcomputer 180, and delivery system operator computer may comprise anytype of computer operating environment such as hand-held devices,multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumerelectronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. Sendercomputer 175, recipient computer 180, and delivery system operatorcomputer may also be practiced in distributed computing environmentswhere tasks are performed by remote processing devices. Sender computer175, recipient computer 180, and delivery system operator computer havethe capability of connecting to communications system 170. If theInternet is utilized as communications system 170, this connection canbe made utilizing e-mail generally through the use of a standard e-mailsoftware package such as Microsoft Corporation's OUTLOOK or GROUPWISEmarketed by Novell, Inc. In this example where communications system 170is the Internet, the sender notification address and the recipientnotifications address are e-mail addresses for the sender 105 andrecipient 155 respectively. Sender 105, recipient 155, and deliverysystem operator typically connect sender computer 175, recipientcomputer 180, and delivery system operator computer respectively to theInternet through an Internet service provider (ISP) (not shown), in themanner as is known to those skilled in the art. In addition to Internetbased e-mail, the delivery system operator may communicate with eithersender 105 or recipient 155 over communications system 170 utilizingregular mail, facsimile, web pages, or an interactive voice responsesystems. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that many other typesof communications system 170 may be used.

[0025] In addition to utilizing a wire line communications system 170,the delivery system operator, sender 105, or recipient 155 may utilize awireless communications system 170 in order to exchange e-mails via theInternet. Wireless can be defined as radio transmission via theairwaves, however, those skilled in the art will appreciate that variousother communication techniques can be used to provide wirelesstransmission including infrared line of sight, cellular, microwave,satellite, packet radio and spread spectrum radio. Sender computer 175,recipient computer 180, and delivery system operator computer in thewireless environment can be any mobile terminal such as a smart phone,personal digital assistant (PDA), intelligent pager, portable computer,hand held computer, or any device capable of receiving wireless data.Wireless data may include, but is not limited to, paging, textmessaging, e-mail, Internet access and other specialized dataapplications specifically excluding voice transmission. A PDA is ahandheld computer that serves as an organizer for personal information.It generally includes at least a name and address database, to-do listand note taker. PDAs are typically pen based and use a stylus to tapselections on menus and to enter printed characters. The unit may alsoinclude a small on-screen keyboard which is tapped with the pen. Datamay be synchronized between the PDA and a desktop computer through acable or wireless transmissions.

[0026]FIG. 2 is a flow chart setting forth the general stages involvedin an exemplary method 200 for providing item delivery notification. Theimplementation of the stages of method 200 consistent with the presentinvention will be described in greater detail in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4.Exemplary method 200 begins at starting block 205 and proceeds toexemplary subroutine 210 where the first notification is sent torecipient 155 at the recipient notification address indicating that item110 has been placed in delivery system 130 directed to recipient 155 atfirst address 150. The stages of exemplary subroutine 210 are shown inFIG. 3 and will be described in greater detail below.

[0027] From exemplary subroutine 210, exemplary method 200 advances todecision block 220 where it is determined if item 110 has beensuccessfully delivered to recipient 155. Delivery system 130 comprisessender plant 125, delivery path 135, first address plant 140 andalternative address plant 145. Delivery path 135 comprises a pluralityof plants similar to sender plant 125, first address plant 140 andalternative address plant 145. The plants within delivery system 130 maycontain, among other things, automated systems and sorting equipmentlocated at a plurality of locations. In executing their function, theplants comprising delivery system 130 process item 110 by checkingaddress label 115 placed on item 110. Item 110 is then routed to thenext most appropriate plant in delivery system 130. The appropriatenessof the next plant in delivery system 130 depends upon the presentlocation of item 110 in delivery system 130 and where item 110 isaddressed. Ultimately, item 110 is routed in delivery system 130 to theplant that serves the delivery address indicated on item 110, accordingto established procedures. Thus item 110 is routed from plant to plantwithin delivery system 130 wherein item 110 efficiently converges onfirst address plant 140, which is the plant that serves the deliveryaddress labeled on the item 110. Throughout this process, deliverysystem 130 tracks the progress of item 110 through delivery system 130.

[0028] If item 110 has not been successfully delivered to recipient 155at decision block 220, exemplary method 200 advances to exemplarysubroutine 230 where the third and fourth notifications are sent tosender 105 and recipient 155 respectively, indicating that item 110 hasnot been delivered and recipient 155 obtains item 110. The stages ofexemplary subroutine 230 are shown in FIG. 4 and will be described ingreater detail below. From exemplary subroutine 230, exemplary method200 continues to stage 250 where exemplary method 200 ends.

[0029] If at decision block 220 it is determined, however, that item 110has been successfully delivered to recipient 155, exemplary method 200continues to stage 240 where the second notification is sent to sender105 at the sender notification address indicating that item 110 has beendelivered. Situations in which a delivery can be successful are whenrecipient 155 is at home to receive item 110 or when item 110 is smallenough to fit in the mailbox of recipient 155 and personal delivery wasnot requested by sender 105. In order to send the second notification,the delivery system operator can send an e-mail through the Internet tothe sender notification address which delivers the second notificationto sender computer 175. By this procedure, sender 105 will be notifiedthrough e-mail when item 110 has been received by recipient 155 ratherthan going to a separate system to key in a code to determine if item110 has been delivered. Sender 105 can be notified periodically or whenitem 110 is delivered, based on criteria establish for item 110. Forexample, a notification to sender 105 that an EXPRESS MAIL package to amortgage company has been delivered can be sent to sender 105 in ane-mail, thus linking information about the physical world (the mortgagecompany mailbox) to an electronic mailbox (sender computer 175).

[0030] From stage 240 where the second notification is sent to sender105 at the sender notification address indicating that item 110 has beendelivered, exemplary method 200 ends at stage 250.

[0031] First Notification is Sent to Recipient

[0032]FIG. 3 describes the exemplary subroutine 210 from FIG. 2 in whichthe first notification is sent to recipient 155 at the recipientnotification address indicating that item 110 has been placed indelivery system 130 directed to recipient 155 at first address 150.Exemplary subroutine 210 begins at starting block 305 and advances tostage 310 where item 110 is placed in delivery system 130 directed torecipient 155 at first address 150. In delivering item 110 to firstaddress 150, item 110 is routed from plant to plant within deliverysystem 130 wherein item 110 efficiently converges on first address plant140, which is the plant that serves the delivery address labeled on item110. Throughout this process, delivery system 130 tracks the progress ofitem 110 through delivery system 130. Once item 110 reached firstaddress plant 140, the delivery system operator transfers item 110 fromfirst address plant 140 to first address 150. FIG. 1 shows sender 105placing item 110 into delivery system 130 at sender plant 125. However,item 110 may be placed in sender plant 125 or any other plant withindelivery system 130. Item 110 delivered through delivery system 130 maycomprise a letter or any other type mailpiece, however, those skilled inthe art will appreciate that many other types of items may be deliverythrough delivery system 130.

[0033] After item 110 is placed in delivery system 130 directed torecipient 155 at first address 150 in stage 310, exemplary subroutine210 advances to stage 315 where sender 105 provides first address 150,the sender notification address, and the recipient notification address.This information may be provided by an e-mail from sender computer 175to system computer 165. In the present embodiment where the Internet isutilized as communications system 170, the sender notification addressand the recipient notification address comprise the e-mail addresses ofsender 105 and recipient 155 respectively. Those skilled in the are willappreciate, however, that other types of communications system 170 my beutilized. Once sender 105 provides first address 150, the sendernotification address, and the recipient notification address in stage315, exemplary subroutine 210 continues to stage 320 where label 115 foritem 110 is generated. Label 115 may contain a code linking sender 105to item 110 in addition to comprising the name of recipient 155 andfirst address 150.

[0034] From stage 320 where label 115 for item 110 is generated,exemplary subroutine 210 advances to stage 325 where the firstnotification is sent to recipient 155 at the recipient notificationaddress indicating that item 110 has been placed in delivery system 130.Again, in the present embodiment where the Internet is utilized ascommunications system 170, the first notification may comprise an e-mailsent to the recipient notification address. After the first notificationis sent to recipient 155 at the recipient notification addressindicating that item 110 has been placed in delivery system 130 in stage325, exemplary subroutine 210 advances to stage 330 and returns todecision block 220 of FIG. 2.

[0035] Third and Fourth Notifications are Sent

[0036]FIG. 4 describes the exemplary subroutine 230 from FIG. 2 in whichthe third and fourth notifications are sent to sender 105 and recipient155, respectively, indicating that item 110 has not been delivered andrecipient 155 has received item 110. Exemplary subroutine 230 begins atstarting block 405 and advances to stage 410 where a notice is providedto first address 150 indicating that item 110 has not been delivered.The notice may comprise a note left at first address 150 indicatingwhere item 110 can be obtained. Item 110 may not be delivered, forexample, if recipient 155 was not at home at the time of the deliveryand sender 105 requested personal delivery to recipient 155, or whilepersonal delivery was not requested by sender 105, item 110 was toolarge for the mailbox of recipient 155.

[0037] After the notice is provided at first address 150 indicating thatitem 110 has not been delivered in stage 410, exemplary subroutine 230advances to stage 415 where the third notification is sent to sender 105at the sender notification address indicating that item 110 has not beendelivered. Once the third notification is sent to sender 105 at thesender notification address indicating that item 110 has not beendelivered in stage 415, exemplary subroutine 230 continues to stage 420where the fourth notification is sent to recipient 155 at the recipientnotification address indicating that item 110 has not been delivered.Again, in the present embodiment where the Internet is utilized ascommunications system 170, the sender notification address and therecipient notification address comprise the e-mail addresses of sender105 and recipient 155 respectively.

[0038] From stage 420 where the fourth notification is sent to recipient155 at the recipient notification address indicating that item 110 hasnot been delivered, exemplary subroutine 230 advances to stage 425 whererecipient 155 is presented with item 110. For example, recipient 155while on the way home from work and receives an e-mail through a PDA.From the fourth notification e-mail, recipient 155 knows that item 110is waiting at the post office and can be picked up on the way homewithout creating a second trip. In addition, the fourth notificatione-mail my contain information, such as a code, that allows recipient 155to obtain item 110 from the post office or through self-serviceequipment holding item 110 at the post office or other central location.An example of such self-service equipment is the Mail Item RetrievalSystem operated by the USPS. For example, recipient 155 may present thecode obtained in the fourth notification e-mail to the appropriate MailItem Retrieval System as designated in the fourth notification e-mail.Once presented with the code, the Mail Item Retrieval System retrievesitem 110 through a series of automated processes and presents item 110to recipient 155. While the Mail Item Retrieval System operated by theUSPS may be used as the self-service equipment, those skilled in the artwill appreciate that other self storage equipment may be utilized.

[0039] After recipient 155 obtains item 110 in stage 425, exemplarysubroutine 230 advances to stage 430 where the fifth notification issent to sender 105 at the sender notification address indicating thatitem 110 has been obtained. Again, the fifth notification can be sentvia e-mail. Once the fifth notification is sent to sender 105 at thesender notification address indicating that item 110 has been obtainedin stage 430, exemplary subroutine 230 continues to stage 435 andreturns to stage 250 of FIG. 2.

[0040] In view of the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the presentinvention provides a system and method for item delivery notification.Still, it should be understood that the foregoing relates only to theexemplary embodiments of the present invention, and that numerouschanges may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention as defined by the following claims.

We claim:
 1. A method for providing item delivery notification,comprising: sending a first notification to a recipient at a recipientnotification address, the first notification indicating that an item hasbeen placed in a delivery system directed to the recipient at a firstaddress; sending a second notification to a sender at a sendernotification address if the item is successfully delivered to therecipient at the first address, the second notification indicating thatthe item has been delivered; sending a third notification to the senderat the sender notification address if the item is not successfullydelivered to the recipient at the first address, the third notificationindicating that the item has not been delivered; and sending a fourthnotification to the recipient at the recipient notification address ifthe item is not successfully delivered to the recipient at the firstaddress, the fourth notification indicating that the item has not beendelivered.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving thefirst address the sender notification address, and the recipientnotification address from the sender.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinat least one of the following comprise an e-mail address: the sendernotification address and the recipient notification address.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the first, second, third, and fourthnotifications are sent using at least one of the following media:regular mail, e-mail, facsimile, internet, and an interactive voiceresponse system.
 5. The method of claim 1 further comprising processingthe item comprising at least one of the following: a mailpiece and aUnited States Postal Service Priority Mail package.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the fourth notification further indicates where theitem can be obtained.
 7. The method of claim 1 further comprisinggenerating a label for the item, wherein the label indicates the firstaddress and associates the first address, the sender, and the recipient.8. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing a notice at thefirst address if the item is not successfully delivered to the recipientat the first address, the notice indicating that the item has not beendelivered.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the notice furtherindicates where the item can be obtained.
 10. The method of claim 1further comprising presenting the item to the recipient if the item isnot successfully delivered to the recipient at the first address. 11.The method of claim 10 further comprising sending a fifth notificationto the sender at the sender notification address, the fifth notificationindicating that the item has been obtained.
 12. The method of claim 1further comprising receiving the item in the delivery system from thesender.
 13. A system for providing item delivery notification,comprising: a component for sending a first notification to a recipientat a recipient notification address, the first notification indicatingthat an item has been placed in a delivery system directed to therecipient at a first address; a component for sending a secondnotification to a sender at a sender notification address if the item issuccessfully delivered to the recipient at the first address, the secondnotification indicating that the item has been delivered; a componentfor sending a third notification to the sender at the sendernotification address if the item is not successfully delivered to therecipient at the first address, the third notification indicating thatthe item has not been delivered; and a component for sending a fourthnotification to the recipient at the recipient notification address ifthe item is not successfully delivered to the recipient at the firstaddress, the fourth notification indicating that the item has not beendelivered.
 14. The system of claim 13 further comprising a component forreceiving, from the sender, the first address, the sender notificationaddress, and the recipient notification address.
 15. The system of claim13, wherein at least on of the following comprise an e-mail address: thesender notification address and the recipient notification address. 16.The system of claim 13, wherein the first, second, third, and fourthnotifications are sent using at least one of the following media:regular mail, e-mail, facsimile, internet, and an interactive voiceresponse system.
 17. The system of claim 13 further comprising acomponent for processing the item comprising at least one of thefollowing: a mailpiece and a United States Postal Service Priority Mailpackage.
 18. The system of claim 13, wherein the fourth notificationfurther indicates where the item can be obtained.
 19. The system ofclaim 13 further comprising a component for generating a label for theitem, wherein the label indicates the first address and associates thefirst address, the sender, and the recipient.
 20. The system of claim 13further comprising a component for providing a notice at the firstaddress if the item is not successfully delivered to the recipient atthe first address, the notice indicating that the item has not beendelivered.
 21. The system of claim 20, wherein the notice furtherindicates where the item can be obtained.
 22. The system of claim 13further comprising a component for presenting the item to the recipientif the item is not successfully delivered to the recipient at the firstaddress
 23. The system of claim 22 further comprising a component forsending a fifth notification to the sender at the sender notificationaddress, the fifth notification indicating that the item has beenobtained.
 24. The system of claim 13 further comprising a component forreceiving the item in the delivery system from the sender.
 25. A methodfor providing item delivery notification, comprising: receiving, from asender, a first address, a sender notification address and a recipientnotification address, the sender notification address and the recipientnotification address comprising e-mail addresses; receiving an item,from the sender, in a delivery system directed to a recipient at thefirst address; processing the item comprising at least one of thefollowing: a mailpiece and a United States Postal Service Priority Mailpackage; generating a label for the item, wherein the label indicatesthe first address and associates the first address, the sender, and therecipient. sending a first notification to the recipient at therecipient notification address, the first notification indicating thatthe item has been placed in the delivery system; sending a secondnotification to the sender at the sender notification address if theitem is successfully delivered to the recipient at the first address,the second notification indicating that the item has been delivered;sending a third notification to the sender at the sender notificationaddress if the item is not successfully delivered to the recipient atthe first address, the third notification indicating that the item hasnot been delivered; sending a fourth notification to the recipient atthe recipient notification address if the item is not successfullydelivered to the recipient at the first address, the fourth notificationindicating that the item has not been delivered and where the item canbe obtained; providing a notice at the first address if the item is notsuccessfully delivered to the recipient at the first address, the noticeindicating that the item has not been delivered and where the item canbe obtained; presenting the item to the recipient if the item is notsuccessfully delivered to the recipient at the first address; andsending a fifth notification to the sender at the sender notificationaddress that the item has been obtained.